Had a text message from blast. He is OK, but bored. No power in his area.

I asked him if he needed anything, he replied "cheerleaders". I told him 50 male cheerleaders and 200 kitties were on the way.

I'll agree with you on the gen.

I talked to my neighbor, who is with HPD. He said Saturday was OK, but today the worst is coming out of people. Fights at gas stations, people trying to steal things. Of course, he is uniquely situated to observe those things.

Stores that are open have people waiting outside to get in. Gas stations have half mile long lines.

His advice was to stay put and not go out to get anything if you don't need to.

I haven't been able to reach Blast, but I doubt he'll come when I do. You know how it is when you are super-prepared. He's probably doing just fine, as he told you, and doesn't really need anything.

Right now, I have my sister and her 2 kids here, along with my family of 5. He might be better off at home with his trees and his beer.

He is cat sitting, and bored.

If Blast's internet was up he could shop for a generator. . . which would arrive after the power was restored. He planned to be without a/c? Bet the cat is pissed.

If he's bored, he could probably use some of his stored water to bathe the cat.

Sue

If he does get that bored, I hope he had the chance to stock up on his "medicinal" alcohol before the storm hit.

- Eric

It's good to hear Blast is OK. I was going to give him a call but apparently I never transferred his number into my new phone.

The power in my part of town, near 610 and 290 for those familiar with the area, is back on! I have been deeply touched by the amount of compassion and fellowship that my immediate neighbors and others have demonstrated and I think it far outweighs the reports of looters that we've heard. Total stranger-neighbors that I struck up a conversation offered to let me come take a hot shower and use their grill to cook food if I needed. It was totally non-creepy and rather uplifting.

Damage to trees is extensive, which is probably to be expected considering how long it's been since we've had a big blow or ice storm, but it was still sad to drive past so grand old trees that have been totally destroyed.

I've got a few Lessons Learned points that will be addressed next hurricane season, assuming this is the last storm we get this year. I "wisely" got a lot of ice on Thursday, by which I mean a whole two 8 lb bags, but I would have been more comfortable if I'd bought even more, and I would have been more comfortable yet if I owned, which I now do, a decent ice chest. On the other had, my refrigerator's freezer did yeoman's duty keeping what ice I did lay up and I still had a whole 8 pounds or so when the power came back on.

Above all, it has been really nice to be able to give my parents, who have given me so much over the years, an air conditioned place to sleep tonight. The icing on the cake is all the meat they brought with them, since Daddy had just received a fairly large shipment from Omaha Steaks that might have gone bad in the absence of my now-functional freezer.

My buddy lives at TC Jester and the 610, and is still without power. He has natural gas and water. He said a lot of trees down, but he had no damage. He has cases of canned soup and bottled water. His 3 freezers are plugged in to a large generator, so his extended family that sheltered with him are going to be there a while.

His old factory on 36th street near TC Jester has 1/2 power, but he is not opening. Had some tree damage to one of the buildings.

As far as I can tell, most of Galveston was destroyed.

IKE went through my area of NY early this AM, combining with a cold front. No rain, but tropical storm speed winds. A lot of power loss, and tree damage. Schools closed or delayed.

Remnants of Ike sped through Ohio on Sunday, with rain and 50-70 mph winds. One Ohioan died from a fallen tree and AEP reported that 270,000 customers in Ohio were without power.

Update: The latest news reports indicate over 1 million customers without power in Ohio. AEP is just one supplier of electricity in the state.